I’m back to the land of the living…sort of…I don’t know what bug hit me but I’ve been SICK. The apex coming last night, when I’m prepping to return to work today, and started vomiting all. night. long. I never want to experience that again, it was awful. So I’m just starting to get caught up on e-mails and blog posts. 

Samsung S3. Source

Last week I asked all of you for opinions on me getting a new cell phone. It was pretty obvious you all thought I should contact my provider and see what they could offer me. It was just last year that Sicorra helped me get a new bed and now the PF community comes together to help get me a fancy new smart phone.

The Tone

When you’re trying to negotiate about getting something for free or at a decreased value, your tone will play a huge role. If you come out guns blazing, you’re likely going to get shot down. If you maintain a decent tone, not getting too excited or upset, you’ll likely have a better chance of success.

Do Your Homework, Then Play Dumb

Before I made a call to my cell phone provider, I made sure I did my homework. I knew exactly what I was going after and at what price. I checked both my provider and competitors pricing. I didn’t want the provider to know I knew anything and make them feel like they had the power in the conversation. If they tried to screw me in any way though, I would know.

This is also a good time to remind them that you’re a good customer and can very well leave them if you wanted. Make sure you slip this into the conversation, in a non-threatening way.

This is how the start of my conversation with the cell phone provider went:

Me: I’m calling to find out my options for upgrading my current phone to something more reliable either with you or another provider if I were to buy-out my contract.

Them: Let me take a look at your options here. I see that you’ve been with us for eight years. I’d like to thank you and before we continue I’m deducting $20 from your next bill.

Just like that I save myself $20 and they’ve acknowledged that I’m a loyal customer capable of leaving them. We’re on the same page.

It’s a good thing I did my research. My cell phone provider had a current in-store only promo that was too good to turn down. This was an option not available online or when I called in to discuss things. When I mentioned my findings to the lady on the phone she said it was a deal she couldn’t match and urged me to go for it.

What I Managed to Get

I had a Blackberry Curve. While I love my BBM and QWERTY keyboard, the software was just not there. The OS was out of date and unreliable. Knowing that I could get my beloved BBM on Android (or iOS) coming this summer I made the jump away from Blackberry.

I have no interest in iPhone. The biggest reason being that I couldn’t change the battery out if I wanted. I’ve had some great cell phone and laptops in my lifetime and the battery almost always starts crapping the bed well before the lifetime of the phone. I wanted to make sure I got a phone with a battery I could buy to change if needed.

I’ve always had success with Samsung. I love my Samsung TV and in past cell phones, my Samsung phones have been my favorite. While the fancy new Samsung Galaxy S4 is now on the market, I really just needed something reliable and the S3 was just that. If I relinquished my Blackberry to my provider, I would be able to get an S3 for nothing. Actually more than nothing. They were offering the S3 for $50 but were willing to give me $80 for my Blackberry so I got the S3 for $0 and put $30 towards my device balance. Not too shabby. New phone and make money?

More Data for Less Money

The data plan I had on my Blackberry was an exclusive Blackberry plan, something other smartphones didn’t offer. In order for me to get the same services and data I was looking at $20 more per month. Not in this lady’s budget. Again with a reminder about my loyalty to the company and a phone call on their behalf, I was able to keep my services and data for the same price. Win.

I continue to learn that it never hurts to just ask. Especially if you’ve done your research and know exactly what you’re going after. The worst they can say is no but more times than not they’re usually willing to work with you just for asking.

Have you saved money recently through negotiations?

Source: Free Digital Photos

Everyday we wake up, roll out of bed, and are faced with thousands of things that could potentially cause us personal injury. From the fault sidewalk outside your job to the dangerous awning over your front door, we’re never safe!

Parking Lot Maniac

About 10 years ago I drove to a local movie store to rent a movie (Yes, actually rent a movie). Anyway, the parking lot where the store was located had a strange layout and required a 3000 point turn to properly maneuver your vehicle. It was an accident waiting to happen, and in my case, did happen.

I was pulling into the very narrow entrance/exit combo and noticed a vehicle with their reverse lights on. Seeing this as soon as the nose of my vehicle was in the parking lot, I stopped and gave more than enough room for him to finish backing out of the spot. Once he was straight, he would then need to allow me to move around him since I was near blocking the entrance/exit. Anyone would be able to clearly see I had to move if he wanted to get out of the parking lot.

Expecting him to move to the side, allowing me to move around him, I didn’t foresee what would happen next.

He made eye contact with me and then drove straight into my parked car! I was trapped. There was no where I could go, backing up into oncoming traffic wasn’t an option nor was going straight.

This idiot hit me head on, then attempted to drive off!

He wasn’t so bright though. Given the time it took him to back out of the spot, I had plenty of time to laugh at his stupid license plate that was something dumb like ”IMGR8”. If that wasn’t enough, I also noticed he was an employee at the store I was about to enter! I walked in, asked for the manager, told him what had just happened and he gladly gave me his contact info.

Let’s just say his mom was less than impressed when I called.

This was a lucky situation for me. If he had been going even a little but faster I could have been seriously hurt. If his plates weren’t so obvious he may have gotten away with it too. I’ve been in cars when the airbags go off and it’s not fun. Thankfully I’ve never been in a situation requiring me to claim a personal injury I know thousands of people everyday need help (UK Friends should check out May I Claim Solicitors if you ever require personal injury help!)

Have you ever been in an accident requiring a personal injury claim?

Source: Free Digital Photos

This weekend marks the unofficial start of summer for Canadians. On Monday we’re celebrating Victoria Day and today at five o’clock you’ll be able to hear bottles of beer open across the country simultaneously.

Three to four-day weekends are meant to be taken advantage of! Having that extra day off work means one extra day of fun and relaxation but it doesn’t have to include an expensive vacation somewhere. Here are a few inexpensive long-weekend ideas.

Camping

Though it’s too early in the year for me, I know a lot of people who start their camping season this weekend. Since I prefer to camp in a tent it’s still a bit too damp and cold at night for my style. If you’re a trailer of 5th wheel type of ”camper” then you’ll likely be taking advantage of this extra day to get outdoors for a bit (and then quickly retreat to your furnace-heated house on wheels).

A weekend of camping (our style) won’t cost more than $100. This includes any park fees, alcohol if drinking, gas and extra s’mores ingredients. Not bad for a whole weekend of fun! We almost always bring food from home to cut out an extra grocery trip and try to pre-make some dinners which would just require a re-heat on a fire or stove (think something like chili). Since the prime real estate in the cooler belongs to beer or rum, we don’t want to fill it with a bunch of unnecessary containers and ingredients so we keep it simple for breakfast and lunch with toast, bagels burgers or hotdogs.  I’m only half kidding.

Picnics

I love picnics. I don’t know why we don’t do them more often. They’re cheap, fun and a great excuse to get outside. We’re actually hoping mother nature cooperates enough this weekend to do one with kiddo, her first!

Museums (Etc)

I say Etc because I’m going to lump in art gallery’s, zoo’s, aquariums and alike. Halifax has a few great museums and a farm/zoo about 40 minutes outside the city. I wish we had an aquarium like Boston’s(!), and for the life of me can’t understand why we don’t, but sadly I can’t change that so I’ll have to settle for some goats and peacocks at the ‘zoo’. Check out long-weekend prices because sometimes main attractions lower their prices for long weekends to attract tourists.

BBQ

Need I say more? Any excuse for me to eat something off a grill is enough reason for me. Food simply taste better when it’s grilled. Meat, veggies or fruit…yummm….

Alongside BBQ’s we also like to have a fire in our backyard firepit. For the cost of some ground beef (I always make my burgers from scratch!), and a few beers (or drink of choice) we have ourselves a whole evening of fun with friends and family.

Hiking

This is something I plan to do more of this summer especially since I got myself a fancy-smancy baby carrier that I can put baby M in (which I wrote about here). We have some beautiful hiking trails that I have yet to explore so will capitalize on my three day weekends and hike it up!

Not So Fun

I have to include it since it’s something a lot of people use their long weekends for, and that’s cleaning. No one loves to clean but a long weekend is sometimes exactly what the cleaning fairy ordered! De-clutter and clean the house and yard up. We plan on cleaning the house and if the weather cooperates, the yard this weekend. I’d love to get some gardening done too but Mother Nature is toying with me and I don’t want to kill any plants with drastic temperature changes.

What are your favorite long-weekend activities?

I’ve been busy all week prepping for going back to work and spending time with some family before the big day, the following is a guest post. 

Source: Free Digital Photos

Debt has become an increasing problem for many people in the face of the global economic downturn; living expenses are at record highs, which has led to people borrowing large amounts of money which they cannot afford to repay. However, debt is something that everyone can overcome with the right help, advice, and most importantly, actions. There are many things that you can do to help improve your situation.

Acknowledge the Problem

One of the major problems with debt is that people ignore it for far too long, which only makes things worse. Don’t ignore letters from creditors because they won’t simply go away. As with many other problems, the first step to solving debt is to acknowledge it in the first place. It may also help to speak to others about the problem. There are dedicated helplines for this.

Budget Properly

Paying off your debts is very difficult without having some form of plan in place. Having one serves two purposes. Firstly, it’ll ensure that you don’t dig yourself further into a debt, but it will also help you to save money which you can use to get back out. Plan your monthly income and outgoings to see where things are going. Always put a priority on paying off debts over unnecessary luxuries. Decipher wants from needs.

Talk to Your Creditors

All creditors are required to be responsible lenders, and most will be willing to listen if you have a problem. It’s often far easier to negotiate with them than you’d think, and it can often result in a better solution to both parties. It’s always a good idea to let your creditors know as soon as there is a problem – things get worse the longer you leave them.

Consolidate Your Debt

Much of the stress of being in debt can be attributed to having a number of different creditors, which is why many people choose to consolidate their debt through a variety of methods. Secured homeowner loans are a popular choice, as they generally offer competitive APRs. However, it’s always important to note that consolidating your debt may increase the amount you pay back overall and extend the repayment time of your debts.

Take note of the above points and you’ll have taken the first few steps to solving the problem. Friends in the UK can visit www.nemo-loans.co.uk for more information.

Source: Free Digital Photos

With me returning to work in less than two weeks I really need to get my butt in gear and back into a routine and back onto a schedule. I have a loose routine with baby when at home, we roughly do the same things everyday, but it’s not conducive for when I go back to work. Buhbye 8am breakfast and 1pm daily walks. Damn financial responsibilities.

Early Rising

Right now I allow baby to wake me when she wakes to start the day. These 7-730am sleep-in’s are going to have to come to a stop. Starting next Monday I’m going to go through all the motions as if I was going to work. My day will require me to wake at 6am at the latest in order to have enough time to get me ready, gather everything to have both baby and I ready for the day, nurse/feed/dress baby and be out the door by 7:20.

Organization= Life Saver

In order for me to accomplish my early mornings without putting a shot gun to my head, I will need to get organized! I’m already stressing about food so meal planning will keep my sanity. Meal planning is something we’ve been a little lazy about lately, but need to get back on track for next grocery run. I’ll also look into planning another Big Cook with friends. I love being able to turn the slow cooker on in the morning and have my dinner complete when I walk in the door. If you’re a busy person and have yet to break out that slow cooker, get on it, you will learn to love it!

I don’t have to worry about my clothes since I wear scrubs but staying on top of laundry will be key. As tempting as it will be to plop down on the coach after baby goes to bed at night, if I don’t keep up with the laundry it will quickly consume me. Between a messy baby, and my dirty scrubs, it piles up fast.

Hubby and I have already done our ‘‘budget” up until October so other than periodic checks and tweaks we should be set in terms of finances. I think I’ve already ironed out any foreseeable issues.

Packing lunches the night before is a must. I’m terrible for leaving stuff like this to the last minute. If lunches get left until the morning, which is already jam-packed full, it will be forgotten. Leaving lunches until the last minute means going to work with no food and spending money. I can’t let lunches, and my laziness, bust my budget! Packing lunch the night before also allows me to better plan my meals for weight watchers.

Along with lunches, the night before I also have to make sure kiddo’s bag for daycare is ready to go so I just have to grab it. This will include packing 6272 outfits to change into, diapers/wipes and weather sensitive items (sunscreen, rain gear, hats…). I still don’t feel like I know everything. Our daycare is literally around the corner, I’m half tempted to just give her a key to my house and tell her to get what she needs if I didn’t pack it

My calender will rule my life. I already rely on both my Blackberry calender and the calender in my kitchen to keep me on top of everything. Summertime especially is insanely busy. Looking ahead, we have one totally free weekend between this coming weekend and the second weekend in September, it’s nuts!

The Blog

It almost goes without saying that I absolutely need to get my stuff organized for blogging or it will not happen. I don’t do it yet but I think organizing everything (my blog and freelancing) in some sort of calender will help. I’m a very visual person. I will have Monday off work to get some stuff done around the home/blog (though will be watching a baby all day too) so I hope this helps me stay on top of things.

What does everyone else do to keep your life together and run on schedule? Tips appreciated!

Though she’s holding the xrays backwards and upside down I will allow it since it’s a free photo from here.

When I started this little ‘ol blog I was embarking on my maternity leave and adjusting to our changes in income. We’ve come a long way in the last 10 months. The first of May brings the month that I will be returning to the workforce. Exactly three weeks from today marks the end of my maternity leave. Not that I have anything to complain about being allowed to have my 52 weeks in Canada, it’s still sad knowing I will be leaving her all day, four days a week.

Worst Case Scenario

Hubby and I sat down recently and did our monthly budget up to October inputting my income on an estimated ”worst case scenario”. Since we won’t have an exact idea what my pay will be as my hours are changing, we input the potential lowest estimated amount that I would be making. Guess what? Even with our added expenses the budget balances. Which means anything I bring home over and above this threshold is ”extra”. This excites me since I’m sure we’ve totally low-balled my income.

Before going on mat leave we would easily spend every single penny I made. I was always taking extra hours and working as much as I could. Me losing a massive chunk of income and being on mat leave is exactly what the doctor ordered in terms of us figuring out how much money we really needed. I am giving up one day per week with my return (one less day of daycare and one day more for me to be with her) so my income won’t be quite as high but hubby’s income will offset my lost day. During the last few months hubby received a raise which ends up equaling approximately my lost income every month so we will still be bringing home about the same (pre-mat leave) every month. 

Change in Expenses

With my return to work, there is an increase in our budget. We now have to pay for the following things:

• Daycare
• *Transit Pass for me
• *Uniform expenses
• *Licensing fees and Continuing education fees for me
• **Change to cell phone contract

* tax write off

**With my return to work I will be away from all technology (I don’t have a computer or internet access at work) for over 13 hours. We’ve already adjusted the budget to include a plan that allows me to have access to my email etc on my phone.

It’s not all about spending. We will be saving on electricity, heat and water. With no one home during the day almost all power will be off, less water will be used and heat only on in the evenings.

Added Expenses AND Balanced Budget?!

We had a baby. She has expenses of her own. It amazes me that we’ve been able to work a budget that included these new expenses like daycare every month, diapers (though I’m thinking of switching to cloth) and even a small savings every month for her education (so she doesn’t end up writing a personal finance blog sharing with the world how much debt she’s in from school), yet we still have enough money to live life. We’re even going on a vacation this summer with the whole family (and I mean whole family, like 100+ people!). When we put our minds to something we’re pretty unstoppable.

In these past 10 months we’ve both increased our income. As mentioned my husband got a well deserved raise and I’ve gotten into the world of PF blogging and freelancing. It’s not a ton of money, but the sites that I’m staff writing for will provide me with half of my goal for how much extra I want to put towards our debt every month. Combine this with our worse case budget and I’m confident that one extra payment per month will happen, if not more! Allowing us to become debt free even faster.

How has a change in employment meant positive things for your budget?

Note: I can’t thank every single one of my readers personally but I wish I could. This blog and the connections I’ve made in the personal finance community have seriously changed my life. Though there are a few bad apples and people I think I’d like to throw a brick at (no blogs that I read/comment/connect with on twitter!) I’ve also met people who I’d like to consider friends and can’t wait to meet some day. The vast knowledge this community has blows my mind. It’s tough to comment on everything I read and I’d almost rather not comment at all then leave a lame-ass comment like ”nice job”. Just know that I love all your blogs all and thanks so much for opening my mind and accepting me into your community.

To properly manage your debts, formulate a strategic plan that spans all areas of your financial life, from revenue and expense management to net worth planning and cash-flow tracking. You also would need to canvass the offices of professionals well versed in financial matters, to ensure your strategic blueprint is compatible with your current economic situation. These professionals include debt management experts, accountants, tax planners, and debt-management attorneys.

Expense Management 

Your debt management strategy should glom with your expense management aspiration – like macaroni and cheese. This is because you incurred the debt in the first place because you had to spend money on, say, a personal project, property or business initiative. Personal expenses include things like rent, utilities, travel and groceries. Financial specialists often use the terms “cost,” “expense” and “charge” interchangeably. Other costs you may incur in the normal course of life include interest and overdraft fees. When reviewing your expenses, give analytical importance to the total interest charges you incur on your debts. Debts, such as credit cards, with high interest rates may impede the implementation of your debt management plan – so make sure you pay them off first, before tackling low-interest liabilities. Proper debt management requires the help of experienced professionals like those on www.ConsolidatedCredit.org.

Revenue Management 

When business people talk about revenue management, they refer to techniques and procedures that an organization establishes to track sales, identify the largest customers, boost profits, and define what employees must do to improve customer service. You also can apply the same revenue management tactics to manage debts and reach economic stability. Write down all your income sources, specifying elements like frequency, amount and earnings probability. Earnings probability refers to the odds that you would be generating revenue in a specific area over the long term. Regular earnings include your pay – if you are employed – interest on savings accounts, and retirement money you may receive from the government, insurance companies or other financial institutions.

Cash-Flow Tracking 

Cash-flow tracking is integral to an effective liability management blueprint, as are revenue management and expense administration. A statement of cash flows is a financial data summary that provides insight into a company’s cash flows, from operating activities to investing activities and financing activities. Cash inflows represent money coming in, while cash outflows track funds that were spent during a specific period. For an individual, cash inflows include money paid to settle debt, buy an automobile, finance a wedding and pay for a relative’s college tuition.

Net Worth Management 

If you are a cash-strapped borrower, you can successfully manage debt by formulating a plan to manage your net worth – which equals everything you own minus everything you owe. Revenue, expense and cash-flow management is essential, but you should add the net worth component to your over financial-stability plan. Talk to your banker about net worth planning, or seek the advise of a financial adviser. By slowing paying off your debts, you would have some leeway in increasing how much money is left over at the end of each period – say, a month or quarter – and how much of that fund you want to save.

About the Author:

This article is composed by Elaine McPartland who is associated with “Consolidated Credit” as their community writer. In the above article, She has mentioned worst dangerous signs that shows your debts are out of control. You can add her at her google+ profile.

I thought some of these stats were fun and worth sharing. Enjoy!

The “Creative Money Savers for Newlyweds” infographic was developed by ForRent.com